scrambled, please
by Achos Laazov
Summary: The weak morning sunshine slowly creeps across the floor. Or, Penny's morning routine is changing.


The weak morning sunshine slowly creeps along the floor.

Penny rolls over, snuggling deeper into her blanket. She blinks sleepily. It's a brand new day. Penny sits up, stretches, and slips out of bed. Carefully, she pulls the covers neat, the way Mommy taught her when she turned six. Next on the agenda: breakfast.

Penny skids down the hall and bangs on her parents' door, yelling, "I'm hungry!"

Daddy jokes back, "Go away, you are not loved!" before declaring pancakes for everyone.  
Penny groans.

She scampers back to her room and wiggles out of her pajamas. She pulls the soft sweater Mommy's laid out for her over her head and stuffs her legs into jeans. By the time she runs down to the kitchen, Daddy's managed to burn the pancakes. Scrambled eggs it is.

As usual, morning in the Kirkman house is busy. Mommy's in a rush to get to the courthouse and Leo's working on his English paper while eating his breakfast. Penny manages to eat her eggs, draw a few pictures, and pack some snacks into her backpack before Daddy and Leo are ready to leave.

On their way out the door, Penny calls dibs on the middle row.  
"You sat there yesterday!" counters Leo.  
"But Daddy's dropping me off first," Penny reminds him, "you can switch seats after."  
Leo opens his mouth to respond but Daddy cuts in, "I love you two, but it's getting late, and we gotta move. Penny's right, Leo. You'll move up."  
"She's always right," grumbles Leo, but he climbs into the back anyway. Penny sticks her tongue out at Leo as she clambers into the middle.

Daddy twists around when Penny unbuckles her seatbelt at the elementary school. "Gonna miss you today, Little P," he says.  
"You say that every day," she reminds him, but blows him a kiss anyway.

Penny runs towards the building to join her friends. Daddy watches for a moment, waving, and then the minivan pulls into traffic.

* * *

The weak morning sunshine slowly creeps along the floor.

Penny rolls over, snuggling deeper into her blanket. She blinks sleepily. It's a brand new day. She pulls back the curtains surrounding her bed, and drops out into her slippers. Mommy peeks into her room. Penny waves and points at herself, I'm up. Mommy nods and smiles and continues down the hall. Penny quickly dresses, then follows.

Breakfast today is pancakes, perfectly fried with bits of strawberries in them, and the chef has put her maple syrup on the side, the way Penny likes it. Leo's syrup is drizzled on top of his stack. Today, it's Daddy that's in a rush. He only gets to join the rest of the family for a few minutes before he apologizes. Penny blows him a kiss and he leaves to the Oval Office.

Mommy checks that Penny's got everything she needs for school in her backpack. Leo grabs his bag, and the three Kirkmans walk together to the residence door where the cars are waiting. Mommy bends down to give Penny a hug and kiss. Leo just makes a face. As she climbs into her assigned SUV - Dan's driving today - Jacob gets in the front while announcing into his wrist walkie-talkie, "Peanut and Percussion are leaving the house."

The two cars pull down the South Lawn driveway.

* * *

The weak morning sunshine slowly creeps along the floor.

Penny rolls over, snuggling deeper into her blanket. She blinks sleepily. It's a brand new day. Penny pushes back her blanket and bed curtains so she can roll out. She pulls on a sweater and jeans from her dresser, then slowly opens the door to her room. As she walks into the hall, the guard standing by the door tells his wrist, "Peanut is on the move," and then follows her.

Leo's guard is also trailing him down the hall to the family dining room.

Mommy helps Daddy and his cane to the table while the butlers bring in everyone's breakfast. The family enjoys a quiet breakfast; the bodyguards stay at the windows and doors so the Kirkmans can pretend to have some privacy.

Leo's motorcade pulls up first, and he leaves with Gary and Parker. The security team is informed that, "Percussion is leaving the house."

He waves to the family, climbs in, and is off to school.

Penny hugs her Mom, gives Daddy a kiss, and clambers into "her" car. Dan and Jacob announce her exit to their wrist radios and her motorcade moves down the South Lawn driveway.

They walk, surrounding her, until she's in the school building. Some of the guards stand at points around the building, but Penny's two personal Secret Service shadows come in. Dan stays out of the classroom, by the door today, and Jacob's in the back of the room with his arms folded and his sunglasses on. He looks scary.

* * *

The weak morning sunshine slowly creeps along the floor.

Penny rolls over, snuggling deeper into her blanket. She blinks sleepily. It's a brand new day.

The air smells like pine trees, and the only bodyguards are at the entrances to the building.

The Kirkman kids' morning routine is slow and unhurried. It feels right.


End file.
